Connector using standard housing and modified socket contact

Abstract

A connector is described which uses a prior art standard housing but which uses a modified socket contact to enable reception of a long pin contact. The standard housing (7, FIG. 8) has a horizontal passage (28) with a rear end portion that has four ribs (9). The socket contact (4, FIG. 5) is a substantially cylindrical tube having a plurality of projections (13) on its outside that can pass between the housing ribs, with the socket contact then turned so the projections lie forward of the ribs to lock the socket contact in place. The projections permit the inside of the tube to be of substantially constant diameter to receive a long pin contact.

I claim: 
     
       1. A connector which includes a standard housing for receiving and holding a socket terminal, where the standard housing has front and rear ends and has walls forming a horizontal through passage extending between said ends, said passage having a housing axis and having passage front and rear end portions, with said passage rear end portion including a plurality of radially inwardly projecting ribs that are circumferentially spaced and that have front and rear ends, with said ribs constructed to receive a prior art socket contact that has a spring clip that can snap forward of said ribs, characterized by: a socket contact which comprises a substantially cylindrical tube having a tube axis, said tube having a front portion with a plurality of axially-extending slots forming a plurality of tines for engaging a pin contact, said tube having a middle portion lying behind said front portion and said socket terminal having a plurality of projections spaced about said tube and projecting radially outwardly from the outside surface of said middle portion, said projections each having rear ends, and said projections each being narrow enough and being circumferentially spaced about said tube axis so said projections can slide axially between pairs of said ribs of said standard housing to locations where said projection rear ends lie immediately forward of said rib front ends, said socket contact including a collar lying rearward of said projection rear ends by a distance equal to the distance between said rib front and rear ends so said collar lies against the rear ends of said ribs;   said tube has a rear portion lying rearward of said collar and has an extreme rear end that is slightly outwardly deformed; and including   a connector device having an inside diameter equal to the outside diameter of said tube and lying around said tube rear portion, with said device having a front end abutting said collar and a rear end having a groove that receives and abuts said outwardly deformed tube extreme end.   
     
     
       2. A connector comprising a standard housing of insulative material that has front and rear ends, a horizontal axis, and a horizontal passage centered on said axis and extending between said ends, said passage having front and rear end portions with said passage rear end portion including four radially inwardly projecting ribs having front and rear ends and being designed to receive a prior art socket contact that has a spring clip that can deflect around said ribs to lie against the rib front ends, characterized by: a socket contact of metal material which has primarily cylindrical inside and outside surfaces centered on said axis, and which has front, middle, and rear portions with said front and middle portions lying in said housing passage and with said rear portion projecting rearwardly of said passage, said front portion having a plurality of axially-extending slots forming a plurality of tines for receiving and engaging a pin contact, and said middle having four projections on said outside surface, said projections constructed to pass between said ribs when said socket terminal is slid forwardly into said housing passage, said socket contact including a collar lying rearward of said projection rear ends by a distance equal to the distance between said rib front and rear ends to lie against the rear ends of said ribs.   
     
     
       3. The connector described in claim 2 wherein: said socket contact middle has an inside diameter which is about 5 percent smaller than the inside diameter at the rear of said front portion, but the outside diameter of said socket contact is the same at the rear of said front portion as at said middle in regions of said middle that lie away from said projections.